Mark's Pages

July 29, 2008:

I became a leader of that movement because I challenged the Chancellor's right to crash our meeting. Politely, I believe, yet pointedly. I'm not sure why that was considered such a big deal. But for a long while afterward I carried an air of prestige along with the small thicket of movement buttons pinned to my blue denim jacket.

We were surprised by the turnout. Thousands, where we expected a few dozen. Later we formed an encampment in "liberated" space. There were so many volunteers that we asked students to rotate, spend just a night or two a week there, so that they could continue to focus on their studies without danger of failure.

I took on the job of producing a wall newspaper explaining latest developments and asking for support. I was a good match for this job because I didn't sleep much, typically up and restless long before dawn. So that when students emerged for breakfast, the latest information was there to greet them.

Probably my happiest moment was when the Chancellor's private secretary secretly slipped me the Chancellor's personal phone code, allowing the movement to run up thousands upon thousands of dollars of daytime conference call charges that were sent back for payment to the Chancellor himself.

The movement leadership were an informal coalition of unaffiliated individuals, members of various far-left sect groups, non-students, the local student body President, and representatives of the various student organizations which formed a sort of institutionalized holdover of the '60s upsurge. I did good work there, building a circle of campus activists who later joined with me in affiliating with a small national organization which we all played a role in forming. One of the students I recruited then is today the statewide president of a major University workers' union.

I think we made some small difference to the world. I loved every second.